Wednesday, January 13, 2010

The Virtues of MA'AT (Call and Response at Morning Ritual)
Ma'at ("That which is straight.") was the systematized sacred-spiritual ideal of ancient Kemet. It was the underlying current that intricately connected all things including human behavior. It was the universal ethical principle of ancient Egyptian religion, denoting 'justice', 'order', and 'truth.' Ma'at was connected to the entire existence of the universe, and was not limited to ethics for human beings alone. Ma'at was the perfect order, toward which man should strive. It was, therefore, considered essential to live according to the principles of Ma'at so as not to disturb the very fabric of creation. Since the ancient Kemetic society believed that the universe was an ordered and rational place, Ma'at became the embodiment of the seven principles: Truth, Justice, Righteousness, Order, Balance, Harmony and Reciprocity. The whole of the Kemetic society hinged on the furtherance of these principles. At Woodlawn Community School, we believe that these principles are essential to the development of the whole child. It is for this reason, that we remind ourselves of these virtues at our daily morning rituals.

Teacher: The Virtue of TRUTH
Students: We believe in TRUTH!
We will always seek to know what is correct, and we will not lie or speak falsely of ourselves, our family, or our race.

Teacher: The Virtue of JUSTICE
Students: We believe in JUSTICE!
We will always be fair in what we do and we will not cheat ourselves, our family, or our Race.

Teacher: The Virtue of RIGHTEOUSNESS
Students: We believe in RIGHTEOUSNESS!
We will always be correct in what we do and we will not allow others to influence us to do wrong to ourselves, our family or our race.

Teacher: The Virtue of ORDER
Students: We believe in ORDER!
We will respect the Natural order of the universe and we will not separate ourselves from that which gives order to ourselves, our family or our race.

Teacher: The Virtue of BALANCE
Students: We believe in BALANCE!
We will strive to understand and respect the need to be complementary and we will not be in conflict with ourselves, our family or our race.

Teacher: The Virtue of HARMONY
Students: We believe in HARMONY!
We will always be in rhythm with what is good and we will never be in opposition to what is good for ourselves, our family, or our race.

Teacher: The Virtue of RECIPROCITY
Students: We believe in RECIPROCITY!
We will always strive to do the proper thing at the proper time and we will not bring shame to ourselves, our family, or our race.

I just thought that I would share our pledge that we say in the morning. The reason that I wrote this is so that we can have a pledge the reflects who we are and what we believe and strive for culturally.

In reverence we dedicate our hearts, minds, and spirits humbly to the Creator. We pledge our undying love and allegiance to Mama Africa from whom all life sprang. We pay respect and acknowledge our ancestors, elders, our Babas and Mamas, our teachers, and sisters and brothers. We will always do good and help to others. We will honor our bodies as creations of the Most High, and feed them good things so we can be an asset to the rebuilding of our African community and not a liability. We will ask lots of questions and study the true history of time, both ancient and modern; to know ourselves and reawaken our minds. We are African watoto of the Diaspora and Maafa with our fists held high as a sign that we won’t stop until we reach the sky.

Baba- Father

Watoto- Children

Maafa-the African Holocaust

Holocaust- A mass slaughter of people

Mass-a large amount (in this case at least 100,000,000)

Diaspora-scattering of a people away from an established or ancestral homeland